Though most undoubtedly tuned in to see if the mighty Patriots would claim another NFL Championship victory or if the Rams would prevent this from happening once more, a traditional draw of Super Bowl LIII was, once again, its smorgasbord of movie trailers, with each overwhelmingly expensive 30-second commercial designed to hype some of the year’s biggest films, as is customary of the big game. Let’s take a look at what we saw, shall we?
CAPTAIN MARVEL
In anticipation for next month’s unveiling of Captain Marvel, this brief clip offers seemingly nothing new but still looks decent. Am I the only one getting a weird Green Lantern vibe from the footage we’ve seen so far?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDBsvOtd9fA
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
I’ll be honest-I, in no way, expected an Avengers: Endgame trailer despite Infinity War’s inclusion in the big game last year. Though absent of any action, these 30 seconds are arguably the best trailer from the night, presenting a dark Leftovers-esque feel and providing more questions on top of those seeing in last fall’s teaser. Why does Hawkeye have Cap’s shield? What are Tony and Nebula up to? What are Ant-Man and War Machine about to do? For one of the first times ever, I have no desire whatsoever to see future trailers for this film-the Russos’ masterfully crafted air of mystery surrounding Endgame is a work of art by itself.
HOBBS & SHAW
Last year, Skyscraper starring Dwayne Johnson showed us what a movie called Skyscraper starring Dwayne Johnson would look like-now, Johnson’s back in a truncated version of the trailer from late last week promoting his Fast & Furious spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw, which still looks every bit like you would expect it to look. Beyond ridiculous, a pastiche of every film Johnson and co-headliner Jason Statham have done up to this point and a perfect entry into the Fast & Furious family that, honestly, had me inadvertently chuckling with delight by the end. I’m in.
TOY STORY 4
You wept openly at the end of Toy Story 3, and although most of us find a fourth entry into the series completely unnecessary, I do like what I’m seeing here. Who am I kidding-I can’t wait for another trip into the toy box with everyone’s favorite CG playthings, even if this brief clip skews more toward some dreadful stabs at humor, mostly provided by the new carnival prize characters voiced by Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, anyone?
US
Does Jordan Peele’s follow-up to 2017’s acclaimed Get Out feel a bit too much like The Strangers for my liking? I’ll keep an open mind, but both the initial trailer and this brief clip exude redundancy. We’ll see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8eYnlOg4DA
SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
The imagery from the books haunted many a childhood (mine included), and now thanks to a surprise teaser we get a small taste of what to expect from the big screen adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which unfortunately looks no different from It, Goosebumps or so many similar films throughout light-horror history.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
I’ll happily admit to being taken by Alita: Battle Angel’s initial trailer over a year ago, and subsequent trailers have done little to change my anticipation despite this actioner feeling like Chappie’s much cooler cousin. Early reviews have leaned towards the positive, and while this commercial doesn’t show anything we haven’t already seen I remain excited to see what the director/producer team of Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron have in store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIbPFmi0xk8
WONDER PARK
This movie based off of, or preceding, an upcoming Nickelodeon show can’t help but look like every other animated film which isn’t produced by Disney or Pixar. As average as average gets, from the animation to the humor, and a commercial slot that could have been better utilized for The Lion King, Aladdin or that upcoming Godzilla sequel.
Did you enjoy the game? The trailers? Maroon 5’s lackluster halftime extravaganza? Either way, we can at least agree on the fact that we still need to wait a bit longer for that much-anticipated Star Wars 9 teaser. Sigh!
